I closed the frame shop for Jan/Feb so I could catch up and clean up, and  now I’m putting my energy into painting — I never have been too good at planning ahead. It’s going to come down to the last few days and I will be in a state of dump-madness.

I am plagued with wildlife here in the country. Some of which I like well enough, the daily birds and butterflies,  the occasional bobcat, the snakes , toads, and frogs. But the deer and woodchucks are too much, and destructive of most gardening efforts. So this year I put in a garden bed meant to keep them out— welded wire stapled together on the ground, stapled to the wire that rises vertically. Raised beds of two layers of concrete blocks. More wire on the sides. It is working!

It is small and compact; here are the little asian greens just set out. Flowers, herbs, some onions and scallions fill in the holes on the borders:

Next photo is the lettuce patch; we’ve been eating from it now for a week or so. I’ve got more little lettuce seedlings to replace them, and figure it won’t be too hard to put a shade cloth up next month. I think this garden is going to be a bit toasty come summer, but the back yard has gotten shaded out by all the trees.

We’ve had a nice long spring–many of the old tulips put on a good showing this year:

The tree peony bloomed with a lovely dinner-plate sized  bloom– and then got trashed by the rain.

And the iris my dad hybridized has made a huge comeback out by the mailbox; I once thought I had dug it all out of there—and look what remains!

And I  took the photo late in the day; they have been more open:

And actually I saw them first 10 days ago; but today is the first day of Spring!  Hooray!

There were actually others on the road!

And here it seems they stopped for ice cream:

And the last photograph is of their destination, near Middle Dam in Maine, the Anglers’ Retreat. I think this was a publicity photo they got there, not taken by them:

There are others of brooks and lakes, the dam itself, and a lake steamer— but I am tired of trying to make these images behave!

I see I’ve put a vertical border to the left; I’m afraid if I take it out I’ll lose the text and photos.  I can only get photos that I’ve scanned into Flicker, and thus into here, by taking them from iPhoto, putting them into the Preview app, save them, and lo!  then they can go in the uploader. I even downloaded a new Uploader for Flicker, and it sure is nicer then the one I was using, and the images now don’t have the little copy in the corner, but it won’t accept the scans either.  Maybe the fault, Dear Brutus, lies with the scanner. Tried to take the line out, now there are two! (Ah! I have made them go away!)

 I have wanted to see this newest oldest venue (a music hall since the end of last year, but a great building, shingle style, built 125 years ago.)  So, with so much framing to get done that  I could have worked the night through, I went to Norfolk.

 And had a great time. A wonderful evening time. Beautiful restoration. Great photos in the entry. Two classy bars, one up, one down. Only 300 seats.  Welcoming eager staff.   Sound about right for my old ears, but I might try those ear-protector headphones, like some fellow in front of me had, next time.

 The Nields were so comfortable and sang such lovely harmonies, I was glad I had forgone the work to come.  And a p.s., I was able to shop at a grocery on the way home! (Our local store has closed).

 So what do I do?  Get home and immediately buy a ticket for Richard Shindell, and Leo Kottke, and Judy Collins, and Greg Brown.  And this from someone who has stopped spending money. well, almost.  I can not praise the fellow who has put this together (Dan?) and the great staff and the wonderful restoration and the good vibes enough — really, if you are in the area, Infinity Music Hall in Norfolk Connecticut will not let you down and ought to have every music lover’s support.

And in addition to the tickets I purchased, I’m aiming to win again once the 30 days are up!

 I am having trouble posting to the left side; how little I understand about wordpress and blogging; let’s just keep going and see what happens.  The loom is in like new condition though it was made 40 years ago; Harrisville Design has kept making a good thing over the years; I may order the new tie-ups from them when I put on the new treadle kit; and maybe if I can afford it, the friction brake. But if I shorten the spring on the back brake, I may not care. First, though, I am making myself a warping board. I have the dowels and today picked up the lumber for the frame. If I am distracted from picture framing tomorrow I will put the warpping board together.        Okay, the formatting is wonky, but I will post it anyway.

Mostly photos of my evening so far: today it snowed, then got cold:

Here the Indoor outdoor temperatures at 10:00 pm:

And soon after:

Then about 15 minutes later:

(And edited to add it is 4.8 degrees F. at midnight! )

CPTV is showing  “Live from Lincoln Center” with the NY Philharmonic:

Here’s part of the brass section:

I’ve finished warping the borrowed table loom.

Here’s a closer look; it shows the header, of homespun. I was going to use the same homespun for the scarf, but the warp is fingering weight and the reed is a 12 dent reed, and it makes the heavier homespun feel like shotgun pellets, hard and bumpy.

 So, all the best for 2009!

Today we have arrived at the turning point, at 7:04 am this morning. The sun has reached its low point and will now wend its way back to its highest point in the sky next June.  Of course it is we here on earth who are doing the maneurvering, but appearance is everything, especially up in the heavens, to me.

We have had a great winter storm cycle, like much of the US.  A foot or more on the ground; we are covered in the silence and slow-down that comes with snowy weather.  Here is my home:

The sky was wonderfully colored tonight; paying tribute to this significant day.  When I look down my street on the Solstice, the sun is actually a bit farther south than the transect that the road cuts. Not so for some early folk on an Orkney Island who cut a 47 foot slit that is only illuminated at its end on the winter solstice, featuring carvings made thousands of years ago; there is something similar in Ireland. How did those people manage to be so perceptive? ( I am lost without my internet to answer my every whim.)

And another:

I love the graphic nature of my yard in winter; it goes monochromatic and takes on a peaceful demeanor.  Here are the seed pods of my very tropical Hibiscus that gets larger each year, and which holds on through snow and ice to add drama to my front walk.

Almost all my photos have telephone poles and wires, but hey, they bring me my broadband!

I visited The Clark Museum, in Williamstown MA on Sunday, to see the “Like Breath on Glass” exhibit.   It was so good I went back today, as it ends soon and my opportunities to get there are limited.  The exhibit includes Whistler, Inness, Twachtman, Dewing, Steichen, and others.  Definitely a show to pique a painter’s interest; it’s about ‘painting softly’, where texture and soft edges reign and detail and sharpness are left in the dust, along the road-side. I couldn’t take pictures in the exhibit as most of the paintings were borrowed.

But the Clark has a new collection of John Constable’s work; a bequest of Sir Edwin and Lady Manton. It was new in 2007, and I had not seen these works.  My oh my; I paint like Constable; just not as well!

My photos were overall out-of-focus as the lighting level was so low my digital camera had a problem focusing:

But I was smitten on Sunday and had to return. Yes, the Inness paintings are wonderful, but the immediacy of Constable’s vision and follow-thru just sing with me. I am taken with the bold brushwork and the capturing of the moment, all plein-air (on the spot, from beginning to end) and so “real”.

Little bits of paint in this sketch of the Salisbury Cathedral are so right on the mark.

The Clark has a new building, Stone Hill Center, opened this past June, designed by Tadao Ando.  Squarish; the two exhibition rooms with the Museum’s Homers and Sargents on display seemed too small for ever hosting a major event.

I did like the terrace and the shadows; the concrete-ness of the building looks old but I am sure it is meant to seem new.

On the way home I drove holding the camera out the windows and snapping away (someday they will pass a law against this!) and plan to turn some of the more successful shots into Constable’s:

Of course many of the out-of-the-window shots are fuzzy, but, hey! That’s my style!  A fuzzy realist!

I spent some time in my yard today; first mowing on my more or less once every three-weeks schedule; then I began to get house plants cleaned up and repotted to bring in as cold weather looms. As I got ready to open my water reservoir (a sturdy Rubbermaid trash can) I found this bitty wood frog. Warming himself in a sunlit spot:

I often hear the trill of the adults (males I suppose) this time of year; but they are difficult to find. I have before seen tiny spring peepers and little-bitty toads, but this might be the first tiny tree (wood) frog!

The Kalanchoe is re-potted and ready to come in:

It was a present from Sam and Kath on Mother’s Day, and is thriving. If I can just manage not to overwater it..

 Next is a Plumbago, a lovely blue-blue-blue leadwort, not very showy but such a great bit of color for this late in the season. I have no other blossom in my yard that is this blue, and I am so glad it has survived. It stays in the ground near the pond; I admire it for its tenacity: